Governments Ready To Supply Aid To Far North

Governments Ready To Supply Aid To Far North

Thursday, February 09, 2006 at 14:34

 

 

The federal and provincial governments have measures in place in case the situation worsens in Saskatchewan’s Far North.

 

The communities in the Athabasca Basin have been dealing with shortages of food and fuel over the last several weeks.

 

A warmer-than-usual winter has made it impossible to construct adequate ice roads that are needed to ship supplies to these communities.

 

Athabasca MLA and provincial cabinet minister Buckley Belanger says his government has a plan in place in case the situation turns critical.

 

He says there has even been discussion about how evacuations would be carried out, if things got that bad.

 

However, Belanger notes local leaders have been saying it’s not an emergency situation right now.

 

Belanger says a transportation subsidy for the communities has also been discussed, but nothing has been decided.

 

Meanwhile, Indian Affairs spokesman Trevor Sutter says his department has made $50,000 available to each of the First Nations in the Far North, should they need financial assistance to transport supplies.

 

So far, no applications have been made for this funding — and Sutter believes it is because of the assistance Transwest Air has been providing to the Athabasca communities.